‘They are going to take some skin from her thigh next week to try and repair her feet…

‘She is at high risk of infection and could end up losing them.’

Brittany says she left Kaylee with Jennifer Vaughn on August 11 while she, Kyle and her other two children went to swim at a local beauty spot.

Kaylee’s feet were so badly burned it looked as if she was wearing red woolen socks. Doctors said the injuries could only have been caused deliberately (Picture: Brittany Smith)

The mother said the water there was too deep for a child as young as Kaylee to enjoy safely. So she decided to leave her with Vaughn, who had cared for the little girl without incident on multiple previous occasions.

But Brittany received a terrifying phone call before she arrived at her destination.

She recalled: ‘I got a phone call from Jennifer. I could hear Kaylee screaming in the background.

‘She said that I had to come home right away. I asked her what had happened, but she wouldn’t tell me.’

Brittany arrived back at Jennifer Vaughn’s house and found her daughter still screaming in agony.

Hospital doctors said Kaylee’s burns could only have been inflicted deliberately (Picture: Brittany Smith)

Kaylee has thus far had two surgeries, and is struggling to understand why she cannot run around and play with her younger siblings (Picture: Brittany Smith)

Kaylee’s stepgrandma is said to have initially claimed she’d accidentally left the toddler in the bath, before confessing that she’d deliberately burnt the youngster (Picture: Brittany Smith)

She says the childminder initially told her she’d put Kaylee in a bath while it was running, and the youngster had gotten burnt when she left the room for a couple of minutes.

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Brittany added: ‘Even if that story was true, you know you never leave a child in an unattended bathtub.

Kaylee was rushed to hospital, where she is continuing to receive treatment for her injuries.

Vaughn has been charged with aggravated child abuse and is being held in lieu of $150,000 bond.

Kaylee’s mother is distraught by the injuries she received, and says the only punishment that would satisfy her would be if Vaughn got burnt in the same way if convicted (Picture: Brittany Smith)

Babysitter Jennifer Vaughn has been charged with aggravated child abuse, and is being held in lieu of $150,000 bond (Picture: Rhea County Sheriff’s Office)

Explaining the impact the horrific burns have had on her young daughter, Brittany said: ‘The burns are very serious, but it’s the impact they’ve had on Kaylee’s day to day life that is going to be worse.

‘She will not be able to walk for the foreseeable future, and is really struggling to understand why she can’t join in with her siblings when she sees them playing at the hospital.’

Brittany is furious about Jennifer’s alleged abuse – and says no punishment a court could give will ever suffice.

She explained: ‘If I had my way, she would have the exactly same punishment given to her that she inflicted on my daughter.